After shopping various film festivals near and far, Andover filmmaker Chars Bonin is pleased that his movie "Finding Home" will have its premiere close to home.

The film that he wrote and directed will be screened during the Twin Cities Film Fest, which runs Oct. 12-20 at the Showplace Icon Theatre in St. Louis Park.

"Finding Home," a drama about a couple's camping trip that turns dangerous, is one of 20 films in the Minnesota-made category, which drew more than 150 submissions, according to festival information.

Presenting the movie among "family, peers and friends is really special," Bonin said, adding that this festival seemed like the right fit.

In making the movie, Bonin teamed up with producer Stein Rosburg, who lives in Anoka, and Chris Schuette, a Lino Lakes resident. The three are former classmates from Blaine High School in the late 1980s.

Shot against the backdrop of Camp Olympia in northern Wisconsin in the fall of 2010, the movie is characterized by high production values and demonstrates "what we could do on a small budget," Bonin said.

He hopes the festival exposure will be a jumping-off point for selling the movie and getting more money for future projects. Bonin's production company is Orange Apple Productions.

Steve Snyder, an artistic director and cofounder of the film festival, had high praise for "Finding Home." For starters, "I loved the movie's sense of atmosphere as the couple heads off on a camping trip," he said. "The way it brings you into this world, into the scene, is eerily effective."

"It's a film made with confidence," he said, adding, "It's about the characters, not special effects."

The movie also shows that the independent film community is "thriving and deserving of a bigger spotlight," Snyder said. "We're passionate about it because of films like this."